Author Archives: Casey

About Casey

Casey teaches banjo and plays guitar on several Murphy Method videos and DVDs.

I woke up this morning to this question in my inbox:

Hey guys!
Could you please confirm which video(s) concern "roly polys”?
Thank you in advance,

I figured more than one person might be wondering this very thing, so here is the rundown:

  • The main roly poly video is Kickstart Your Jamming. That is for using them in the key of G. It has the basic version along with some upgrades toward the end.
  • They also make a brief appearance, in their simplest form, on two songs on the New Beginning Banjo series (Blue Ridge Cabin Home and Bury Me Beneath The Willow).
  • For using them in the key of C (and D and E) look at Key of C and Beyond.
  • For using them in 3/4 time (key of G) look at Improvising in 3/4 Time.

In the future we will probably record a video on how to use them up the neck. That's something we've done with all of our in-person and camp students.

I hope this is useful to some of you!

Pretty Good For A Girl CoverWe've just crossed into summer, so we thought it would be an appropriate time to direct you to this Summer Reading List over on Banjo Cafe. Murphy's book "Pretty Good For A Girl" graces it, along with three other banjo-centric books, and one about the Louvin Brothers.

Check it out!

5 Summer Must-Reads for Banjo Players

How time does fly! The three months since our last post here have been filled with camps, swimming, a new mandolin DVD release, the IBMA convention, and one huge award for Murphy. The IBMA honored her with a Distinguished Achievement Award recognizing her groundbreaking work writing the history of women playing bluegrass: Pretty Good For A Girl: Women in Bluegrass.  They give out five each year and her co-recipients this year were Pete "Brother Oswald" Kirby, Alison Brown, Steve Martin, and the International Bluegrass Music Museum.

Murphy and Missy

Murphy Henry hugging Missy Raines as she goes to accept her Distinguished Achievement Award. Photo by Ted Lehman.

Missy Raines made the award presentation with a fabulous speech. I knew she would do an amazing job, but I was still blown away by how over-the-top amazing it was.

After the ceremony Murphy got introduced to Steve Martin by Alison Brown (who sits on the board for his Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo) and they got a picture of all three with their awards.

Murphy, Steve, Alison

Murphy Henry, Steve Martin, and Alison Brown with their Distinguished Achievement Awards plaques.

...and their shoes

...and their shoes!

Here is the entire presentation by Missy and Murphy's acceptance speech following. It is a great overview of Murphy's life and career. Her acceptance starts around the 9:00 mark. Thanks to Kathy Holiday for the video work!

Casey Henry

Casey Henry

Here are the recent additions to my (now quite long) list of custom banjo lessons. As always they can be ordered directly from my website.

  • The Battle Belongs To The Lord (B) Watch clip. - Gospel song in a minor key, with rolls to sing along with.
  • Granddad The Preacher (B) Watch clip. - A Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers song. Easy turnaround for the break, along with the vamp chords.
  • Love Lifted Me (B) Watch clip. - This is a melody-only break (just notes, not very many rolls) to this old hymn.
  • Mama Blues (A) Watch clip. - Earl Scruggs's classic break off of the Live at Carnagie Hall album.
  • There Is A Time (A) Watch clip. - A Dillards classic. This teaches two of Doug's breaks.
  • They Call It Music (A) Watch clip. - A Gibson Brothers song in drop-C tuning.

Casey Henry

Casey Henry

I have a bunch of new custom lesson I've added to my list and here they are:

  • Big Country (Bela Fleck) (A) Watch clip. - This is a great tune of Bela's. Definitely advanced, but on the scale of all of Bela's tunes, not that hard.
  • Cattle In The Cane (A) Watch clip. - This is a fiddle tune, and it really gave me a time working out an arrangement. There is NO way to play it scruggs style. It ended up being a mixture of melodic and single string.
  • Daisy A Day (B) Watch clip. - Easy strumming arrangement to sing along with.
  • Greensleeves (B) Watch clip. (Single note melody version.) - This tune is also on the Casey's Christmas Collection DVD, but that version is much harder than this. Here I just teach the meldoy, one note at a time. Also the guy who ordered it stiffed me, so I'd appreciate it if some of y'all ordered it...
  • Gum Tree Canoe (High Break) (I) Watch clip. - I already have the low break to this on the list. The high break is much harder, but really fun in a kind of ridiculous way. I'll include both breaks when you order this song.
  • In The Gravelyard (I) Watch clip. - A Blue Highway hit. This is Jason Burleson's kickoff break.
  • Rockwood Deer Chase (Don Stover) (A) Watch clip. - A really, really cool tune in D tuning. Jim Mills also recorded it.
  • You Are My Sunshine (I) Watch clip. - Nice, familiar tune that lays out well on the banjo. This is an intermediate arrangement.

You can order any or all of these on my website: caseyhenry.net

Casey Henry

Casey Henry

This article originally appeared in the pages of Banjo Newsletter magazine in December 2013. They kindly gave permission for us to reprint it here. Buy the CD here!

When I heard about the forthcoming CD project from Patuxent Music featuring Washington D.C./Baltimore/Northern Virginia-area banjo players I got super excited. The list of participants includes both legendary players and up-and-comers, bluegrass and old-time. Here, to whet your appetite, is a partial list: Tom Adams, Eddie Adcock, Paul Brown, Donnie Bryant, Bill Emerson, Cathy Fink, Joe Herrmann, Pete Kuykendall, Reed Martin, Doug McKelway, David McLaughlin, Mike Munford, Bill Runkel, Mark Schatz, Dick Smith, Roni Stoneman, Steven Wade, and Chris Warner.

I first heard of the project when my mom and I were both asked to participate. Co-produced by ace picker Mark Delaney (who plays with Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass) and Randy Barrett (president of the DC Bluegrass Union) the as-yet untitled project [now titled The Patuxent Banjo Project] will be released in the Spring 2014.  ...continue reading →

Murphy and Casey appeared at the after-lunch roundup during Bluegrass Week at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV, July 29, 2014. "Lonesome Road Blues" was the first tune ever recorded by a woman playing Scruggs-style banjo. That woman as Roni Stoneman.

Tuesday evening during Bluegrass Week all the female instructors played a set at the evening concert. What a fun show! Here is "Banjo Pickin' Girl". Murphy and Casey Henry (banjos), Kathy Kallick (guitar), Mary Burdette (bass), Laurie Lewis and Tammy Rogers (fiddles), Sharon Gilchrist (mandolin).

Casey Henry

Casey Henry

Here are the new songs I've added to my list of lessons in the last month or so:

  • Bookends (Simon and Garfunkel) (A) Watch clip. - This is a little something different. Beautiful little melody.
  • Carrie Brown (I) Watch clip. - Del McCoury and Steve Earle recorded this on their CD "The Mountain"
  • Garry Owen (I) Watch clip. - A celtic tune played single-string style.
  • More Than Enough (I) Watch clip. - Gospel tune from the band Blue Ridge.
  • To Morrow (I) Watch clip. - Kingston Trio folk song. This arrangement is the chords for singing along with, and a little intro/turnaround lick.

As always, these are available to order over on my website.

Casey Henry

Casey Henry

Here's what I've been up to for the last month or so. These are the new custom lessons I've added to my list. You can order them all here on my website.

  • Lost Highway (I) Watch clip. - Hank Williams song.
  • Oh, Shenandoah (I) Watch clip. - My own arrangement of this beautiful old song.
  • Old Hickory (I) Watch clip. - This is a twin banjo number that the Osborne Brothers recorded. I teach both parts (lead and harmony).
  • Roving Gambler (I) Watch clip. - This is Eddie Adcock's kickoff break from the Country Gentlemen's recording.
  • Walls of Time (I) Watch clip. - My own fairly simple arrangement to this Bill Monroe tune.
  • When The Saints Go Marching In (A) Watch clip. - This is Gene Parker's break from the Lost and Found recording.
  • Uncloudy Day (B) Watch clip. This is an easy beginning break in the key of G. (This song, but in the key of C, is taught on the Murphy Method Wildwood Flower DVD.)

161In the January 2014 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited a fantastic review of our DVD Banjo Backup For Fiddle Tunes appears. You can read the whole thing right here.